A Time Traveling Cat, Part 2

 

cover artist unknown

Artist Thurston Harper and an unknown writer brought Tommy the Time Traveller back for another (and final) adventure in America's Funniest Comics #2 (December 1944)

Judging from his two appearances, Tommy doesn't put a lot of thought into where he travels. He's struck by a thought--in this case, a thought about Ancient Egypt--and decides to go there. Dr. Goatee, who would be in prison on multiple charges of child endangerment if he didn't live in a Comic Book Universe--then lets Tommy borrow his time machine.

In the previous story, Tommy visited King Arthur, where all the knights were anthropomorphised dogs. In Ancient Egypt, though, the inhabitants are human. Comic book readers were still mostly kids in 1944, but it would have been known by then that a lot of guys in the military were reading comics. I wonder this was an attempt to toss our boys overseas a little eye candy.

Anyway, Tommy meets Cleopatra, who mistakes the cat for Julius Ceasar. Tommy doesn't know this and is just confused that a girl is hitting him with "mush" when he just wants to have adventures.

Cleo takes him to the arena, where some captured Phoenicians are about to get fed to the lions. Tommy jumps into the arena to help and gets a lucky break when the lions try to attack his shadow and knock themselves out against the arena wall. He then convinces Cleo to give football a try. It's violent, but nobody is likely to get killed.

The football game, complete with cheerleaders and modern equipment, continues apeace until the real Julius Caesar arrives. Condemned as an imposter (though Tommy didn't know Cleo thought he was Caesar), Tommy runs for it. Caesar follows, but gets knocked out in another slapstick accident.

By now, Ancient Egypt is definitely unsafe for Tommy. The time machine roars by to save him just befor Caesar's soldiers get him.

Once home, Tommy wants to see what cavemen were like. Sadly, Tommy and Dr. Goatee move into comic book limbo at this point, so the prehistoric adventure is one we'll never see.

Like the first Tommy adventure, this one is funny, drawn with charm, and contains a dollop of real adventure. It really is too bad Tommy didn't stick around. He was fun.

You can read this story online HERE. 

Next week, we'll visit with Batman.